When Jane’s eyes met Ryan, she instinctively covered her mouth in shock. In a split
second, tears welled up in her eyes. She stood rooted there, but her body trembled
slightly.
It was the first time Leah had seen Jane with that expression. On her face was a mixture of
joy, worry, and sadness. She wondered why Jane would react that way when she saw
Ryan.
Ryan broke the silence. He sighed as he put down his glass. “Long time no see, Janie.”
Leah’s mother’s name was Jane Crawford. If Ryan called Leah’s mother “Janie”, Leah
believed he knew her. In fact, she was surprised when she realized their connection.
Jane broke into tears after hearing that. She walked toward Ryan and fell on her knees,
which shocked Leah greatly. Ryan grabbed her in time and said, “You don’t have to do
this.”
“I’m sorry, Dad. I’m a bad daughter. I abandoned you for twenty-three years and never
visited you,” Jane said hoarsely.
Leah was stunned when she heard those words. Did Mom call him “Dad”? She looked at
Ryan and Jane with her mouth agape. They were looking at each other. Even though
Ryan’s expression was not gentle, his eyes were full of love when they looked at Jane.
“I thought you’d be living a difficult life after you left the Crawford family. I’ve never been
so glad to be wrong. That boy really treated you well,” Ryan sighed and said.
Jane wailed when she heard that. She eventually calmed down and wiped away her tears.
“It’s all my fault. You and Mom must be so disappointed in me, yet I’m troubling you
again.”
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“I know. You’ve been a troublemaker since you were young.” Ryan smiled while looking at
her.
Listening to their conversation, Leah asked, “Mom, what’s going on?”
Jane quickly explained, “Oh, dear. I was so excited that I forgot to explain it to you.” She
led Leah to the sofa and started to tell her about the past. Jane was originally the daughter
of the Crawford family. After she fell in love with Gordon, she wanted to marry him.
At that time, Gordon was only a poor young man with nothing to his name. Ryan was
worried that his daughter would suffer after marrying him and tried to stop their
relationship. However, Jane secretly planned to run away with Gordon.
Eventually, Ryan caught her. In protest, she stopped eating and drinking for a few days,
and Ryan finally compromised.
At that time, he said calmly to Jane, “Janie, if you’re determined to marry him, you’re not
the daughter of the Crawford family anymore.”
Jane, however, did not understand her father’s good intentions and ran away in a fit of
pique. As he watched her leave, Ryan thought that she would return home when she could
not stand it. However, twenty-three years passed, and Jane never came back.
“I was too ashamed to go back,” Jane said as she laughed at herself. “I’ve disappointed
my father. Even if life was bad, I couldn’t bring myself to go home.”
“So why were you so desperate to call me this time?” Ryan looked at her and chuckled.
Indeed, Jane had made a phone call to Ryan not too long ago. That was why he flew to
Pasteria.
As soon as hearing this, Jane sighed and glanced at Leah. “It’s for the sake of my
daughter.”
Back in her room, Leah felt her brain was dizzy from the information overload tonight.
The next day, Ian, who was on a business trip, finally came home. The first thing he did
was to find Leah. While he was away, Leah had contacted him and said there was
something urgent. He instinctively felt something must have happened. After he arrived at
the White family, Leah told Ian about what happened a while ago.
“What? Sasha used me to trick you into going to the warehouse?” Ian exclaimed. “How
dare she show up again?”
“Yes. I think someone influential is behind this and is manipulating her,” Leah said
worriedly.
Ian sighed, “Try not to go out on your own for now. I didn’t expect her to use me to
blackmail you.”
Leah bit her tongue when she heard that. She wanted to tell him that it was not the case.
Even though the person had lured her to go alone to the warehouse using Ian’s name,
their target was obviously Han.
She hesitated for a moment but eventually said nothing.
“By the way, I bought you something.” Ian grinned and changed the topic.
“What is it?” Leah asked with a smile.
Ian carefully took out a box and said, “Open it and see for yourself.”
Leah took over the present and looked at him puzzledly. Under his anticipating gaze, she
unwrapped the present. It was a sandalwood bracelet with an antique design.
“This is sandalwood, it’ll help you to sleep better. You can become calmer if you wear it,”
Ian explained with a smile.
Feeling moved, Leah thanked him. “Thank you.”
Looking at her smile, he felt a warm, fuzzy feeling in his heart. He could not help but reach
out his hand slowly and caress Leah’s face. When Leah raised her head, she met his face
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which was a few inches from hers. Her heart was beating fiercely. Knowing what he was
going to do next, she gripped her skirt nervously.
“Ahem.” A cough was heard from behind him. Leah, who came to her senses, turned her
head and saw Ryan behind them. He looked at Ian disapprovingly.
“Young lady, who’s he?” Ryan asked.
Leah quickly introduced Ian to him, “He’s Ian Sanders, my… fiancé.”
As she explained, she turned her head to Ian and said, “He’s my grandpa.”
“Your grandpa?” Ian was a little surprised.
He had known Leah since he was young, but never once did he meet Leah’s maternal
family members.
Ian greeted him politely, “Pleasure to meet you, Mr. Crawford.”
Ryan responded with a cold snort and glanced at Leah. “Come with me.” Leah stood up
and followed Ryan.
He looked at her and said, “What happened to you? Didn’t you marry Han? Why do you
have another fiancé now?”
Leah halted, and she smiled bitterly. “Han and I have already divorced.” I am no longer
Leah Murray but Sarah White. The former Leah had “died”, so I am no longer related to
Han Howard.
Ryan frowned, “What? Doesn’t he love you? ”
Leah bit her lip. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
“If you don’t tell me, how can I help you?” Ryan stared at her.
“What do you mean?” Leah looked at Ryan in surprise. For a while, she could not
understand what he meant.